


This Rhyme is Over

by tjstar



Category: Twenty One Pilots
Genre: Anal Sex, Anxiety, Blood Kink, Bloodplay, Friends With Benefits, Friends to Lovers, Hand Jobs, Hurt/Comfort, Injury, M/M, Nosebleed, Self-Harm
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-12
Updated: 2017-02-12
Packaged: 2018-09-22 23:06:38
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,576
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9629186
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tjstar/pseuds/tjstar
Summary: Josh’s right hand is stained with both blood and come and he doesn’t know what else he’s supposed to do now.





	

**2012**

That’s where Josh finds him, a crumpled figure next to the toilet in the shabby hotel bathroom. And all what Josh can do right now is try to shake him awake, Tyler’s head dangling from side to side, back and forth. Josh’s socked feet stick into red glossy drops on the tiles.

“What did you take?” Josh roars, voice resonating through the room.

And Tyler stretches his lips into a delirious smile.

“I’m jus’ an art-project,” he slurs.

A half empty bottle of vodka beside the bathtub, the lines carved on Tyler’s bare stomach and thighs, the waistband of his formerly grey boxers is drenched in blood.

Red fingerprints are almost everywhere — on the ceramic sink, on the toilet seat, on the side of the bathtub, on the wall next to Tyler’s shoulder.

“It’s beautiful, Josh. I feel so calm.”

Tyler slips back into drunken unconsciousness as he says so, eyes closed, facial expression is almost peaceful as Josh yanks at the towel hanging from the rack and begins to wipe the grazes and incisions, soaking the towel with the leftover vodka.

To call an ambulance is his first intention, but luckily, the wounds aren’t dangerously deep, most of them are already covered with the mushy scab.

He deals with it, he washes away the red color coating Tyler’s skin, he dresses up the cuts with the sterile bandages and band-aids.

Josh tries his best to ignore that Tyler is hard, the wet tip of his cock brushes over Josh’s palm through the thin fabric as Josh coaxes Tyler’s legs apart to check his inner thighs for the injuries.

“Feels good,” Tyler whimpers, rubbing on Josh’s hand again.

Josh _almost_ wants to touch him, but Tyler is still bleeding from several shallow cuts so Josh gnashes his teeth and perseveres cleaning up his friend and the bathroom. He breaks a bloodied razorblade, smashes it and throws it into the trashcan.

“Why are you doing this to yourself? You don’t deserve this,” Josh groans out in despair as he scoops Tyler up into his arms and hauls him to the bedroom.

Josh spends the night in Tyler’s bed, nearly crying as Tyler suddenly wakes up at crack of dawn, breathing heavily.

“My skin hurts so much, Josh.” 

“I know, buddy, I know,” Josh whispers into his hear.

“Why does this feel so right?” Tyler asks groggily.

These words are like rusty nails in Josh’s heart.

Tyler blacks out again before Josh swallows the lump in his throat and manages to come up with the answer.

 

**2013**

Tyler is crouching down in front of Josh, stopping the very important practice as one of Josh’s drumsticks cracks against the crash cymbal and jabs him right in the soft spot between his thumb and his forefinger. Despite the amount of the red-soaked napkins all over the basement floor, the gash on his right hand won’t stop spurting blood.

Josh is pretty sure a chunk of his flesh is smeared all down the broken drumstick.

“What if I get a septicemia and they’ll have to amputate my hand?”

“Don’t be silly, Josh. Here,” Tyler clicks his tongue, wrapping the bandages around Josh’s thumb, pressed tightly to the side of his palm to close the puncture wound. “There are might be some splinters. We’re going to the hospital.”

Josh glances at the crimson rills squeamishly, feeling kinda lightheaded and kinda like he might throw up on his own lap.

The blood percolates through the white gauze, shapeless spots adorn their t-shirts, the first aid kit, the cymbal. Josh’s palm stings and itches, his hands are tinted red all up the forearms. He’s about to keel over when Tyler helps him make it upstairs from the basement.

Tyler doesn’t even bother himself with cleaning Josh’s blood off his cheek properly as he drives Josh to the emergency room.

Josh gets four stitches and kind of a psychological trauma as he sees Tyler gnawing his fingernails to gory shreds and certainly swallowing his blood blended with Josh’s. 

 

**2014**

Tyler has some really specific kinks, Josh gets aware of it each time he and Tyler sneak into the darkest corners of the tour bus. They’re invariably getting stuck on this ‘just friends with benefits’ stage due to Tyler’s reluctance to finally come out to their fans.

Tyler’s parents are trying to pair him up with their friends’ daughter.

So that’s why Josh’s relationship status is ‘hopelessly single’.

They’re currently making out in the dressing room before the show, sharing an ugly loveseat.

“Ow,” Josh winces as Tyler bites into his bottom lip, clamping the sensitive skin between his sharp teeth and tugging at it. “Ow, man, stop,” he bends to the small reading lamp as he dabs at his mouth.

The pads of Josh’s fingers are painted red.

“Sorry.”

Tyler scrambles back to him before Josh can argue, their lips are glued together with Josh’s blood oozing from the pulsing bite mark. The brackish flavor gets into his mouth, and Tyler’s hand gets into his jeans, grabbing his hard cock way too roughly but Josh is so high on his emotions he just can’t turn his friend down.

“But what if Jenna-”Josh starts, but Tyler begins to stroke and squeeze up and down the length, and Josh fails at voicing his thoughts.

“She will never know,” Tyler promises, sitting on Josh’s lap and leaning to steal one more kiss, combing his fingers through the light blue hair on Josh’s nape.

One of Tyler’s canine teeth sticks into the open cut, widening it and drawing more blood; Josh lets out a short distressed hiss as the grip on the base of his cock tightens, almost too much for his liking. Tyler kisses him and Josh’s torn lip responds with the nagging pain, causing him to squirm.

Tyler doesn’t pull away, snorting and caressing Josh’s erection as Josh’s legs begin to tremble so hard he curls his toes inside of his sneakers.

“She will never know,” Tyler reiterates, his bottom teeth stained red.

Josh wipes at his flushed face — his sweaty palm gets red speckles on it as he runs it over his chin.

And Tyler lifts his hips up a little, thrusting his hand farther down Josh’s jeans.

When the tip of Tyler’s smooth tongue is licking up the sore on the inside of Josh’s lip, Josh comes, intensively like never before — with the humming in his ears, with a melting pressure on his chest, he throws his head back with a growl, shivering to the bone. Josh’s boxers are unpleasantly sticky now but he’s definitely about to return the favor —

Tyler comes in his pants as soon as Josh’s hand places an elusive touch on his crotch.

“Um.”

“Just don’t worry-”

Tyler recoils from him, a shimmer of discomfort in his eyes as he looks at the damp spot on his groin, sucking his lip into his mouth thoughtfully.

“We need to change,” he utters.

Josh suddenly realizes that he probably likes Tyler more than just a friend.

 

**2015**

Josh isn’t surprised when Tyler asks Jenna to punch him to the full extent not to use the artificial blood while filming the scene for Tear in My Heart. Josh probably wouldn’t be surprised even if Tyler had asked her to stab him with the dagger out of pure interest.

“Don’t wanna hurt this pretty face of yours,” Jenna pouts.

“Please, I just want it to look real,” Tyler keeps pleading.

“Man, you don’t have to resort to drastic measures,” Josh is standing between them, involuntarily thrown into the couple’s fight. “Just use the fake blood, it’s gonna look pretty natural, I swear.”

And then something detonates.

“Fake blood?!” Tyler exclaims indignantly, the veins on his neck strain up under the black paint. “Thank you so much, but there’s too much fake crap in my life,” he spits. “I’m fed up with these lies! Everyone thinks I wrote a song for my lovely future wife, but _I think_ that’s enough, I should constantly control myself not to change the lyrics during the shows!”

“Tyler, what,” Jenna takes a step, nearly pushing Josh off her way.

Tyler shrugs apathetically.

“I love you, of course, but I didn’t write this song about _you,_ like, nothing special. It was just an abstract image, maybe it was _Josh_ , I’m not sure, but anyways, I didn’t want to see any other girl in the music video…”

“Shut up,” Jenna demands.

Tyler’s too big mouth always brings too big troubles. Josh just wants to seal it with the duct tape sometimes.

The following conversation only makes the air colder —

“Do you want to punch me now?”

“Can’t wait.”

 

***

The director and the camera man are all amazed by Tyler and Jenna’s bravery as her knuckles scrape the skin on his lip, the tear is deep enough to spill the blood all over the corner of Tyler’s mouth. She doesn’t want to content herself with a _single_ hit, performing a chain of well-delivered blows that sends Tyler doubling over with the tears welling in his eyes.

Josh feels half sorry half satisfied.

The kick in Tyler’s gut doesn’t seem histrionic.

But the kiss looks plausible nonetheless.

The crew applauses.

The back of Jenna’s hand is as red as Josh’s hair.

Josh wants to disappear along with his drumset.

In the bus, Josh snatches Tyler by the collar of his shirt to finally draw his attention and urge him to go and apologize, because Jenna is so pissed she doesn’t stay to hang out with them after the filming of her scene.

“She’s going to leave me, but I don’t want to sort the things out,” Tyler exhales, his lips at the level of Josh’s. “Once I asked Jenna’s permission to finger her on her periods and she slapped me. But I heard that could help her with cramps-”

“Tyler, stop,” Josh begins to blush at this dubious topic.

“She said: ‘no sex before marriage’,” Tyler continues stubbornly, tilting his head. “But what’s the point? I was just curious. She didn’t understand.”

He’s ranting way too much, and the hammering of Josh’s heart against his ribs is way too painful.

“I understand.”

“But seriously, what’s the matter-”

This time, Josh is the one who takes the lead — his kiss imprints the unspoken words into Tyler’s bruised lips, still salty from the blood smudged all over them.

Instead of the wedding, Tyler gets a break-up with Jenna Black. Instead of Tyler’s wedding, Josh gets Tyler as his boyfriend. They _still_ don’t flaunt their relationship though.     

 

**2016**

Josh’s drumset betrays him again — he just misses the snare drum with the stick and accidentally slams his forefinger on the metal hoop. Adrenaline dulls the pain; he’s so into playing the drum-solo for Lane Boy he just can’t stop until the end, slightly coughing from the smoke effects and finally paying attention to the red splatters on his once white shorts.

Josh’s blackened nail is torn out of the nail bed, bleeding down the bone. His snare drum is sprinkled with the drops of his blood, tiny sick confetti all over the batter head.   

He posts it on his Snapchat for some reason. The fans have to know that being a drummer for Twenty One Pilots is not that easy.

Tyler’s concerned glance burns holes in his back as Josh leaves the stage between the songs to find the band-aid and keep playing the show. He’s eager to finish it without any more harm but he’s pretty sure he’s going to lose his nail completely as he hurts his left hand with every bang he lands on his drums.

‘Not a big deal,’ Josh assures himself, watching the more crimson color adding to all the whites of his clothing.

He makes it.

He hears Tyler’s footsteps and his voice as he stumbles into the dressing room, convincing himself there’s nothing to be afraid of. _Tyler’s not into red shades now, he mostly likes pink, cotton-candy pink —_

“Let me help,” Tyler asks suavely as Josh unwraps the bloodied band-aid from his mutilated forefinger.

The sticky patch slips between his shaking fingers, and Josh feels uneasy as the fat red bead gathers near the root of his nail and slides towards the swollen fingertip. It sends short outbursts of pain; Josh lets out a bunch of incoherent ‘ouch’s as Tyler takes his hand, cradling it in his palms.

“Ty, what are you-” he begins, but Tyler never lets him finish.

He just brings Josh’s finger up to his seductively parted lips, and Josh’s jaw drops.

Tyler’s eyelids droop and his body vibrates underneath the floral kimono as he keeps sucking the blood off Josh’s cracked fingernail with the enthusiastic swirls of his tongue. Josh nearly wants to ask him to drop to his knees and work on his cock instead.

“Wow,” Josh whispers dazedly when Tyler cups his own hard-on loosely through his jeans. Though Josh has seen this so many times he probably shouldn’t be bemused.

Tyler slowly pulls Josh’s injured finger out of his mouth, it’s slick and comparatively clean even though Tyler’s saliva doesn’t have a healing effect, and the blood begins to collect on the damaged cuticle. Josh bends it a little, to make sure the joint isn’t dislocated. It hurts.

“Let’s go get you proper bandages,” Tyler says, nodding towards the exit.

“I have to clean up my clothes first,” Josh grumbles, pulling his shorts and leggings down his legs.

The blood is now freely dribbling on the floor.

Tyler is searching for the fresh bandages in his backpack. Josh appreciates it — Tyler is not into violence, he’s just a little too much into blood.

 

**2017**

The air is too dry for Josh’s stuffed up nose and for his lungs, but Tyler’s wet breathing against his face softens it a bit.

The bed creaks under their weight, every push of Josh’s hips sends ripple through Tyler’s naked body underneath him; Tyler is loud, whining and chewing his skinned knuckles to stifle the noises he’s making.

Josh, per contra, is quiet. He holds his hands on the pillows next to Tyler’s head, rumpling the satin pillowcases and puffing away the yellow strands covering his eyes.

“Yes, yes, right there,” Tyler pants, clinging his fingers to the forged headboard.

Tyler is still fairly tight since the first time Josh had fucked him — like an experiment in early 2010, even before Josh’s triumphant joining the band. This has happened so many times since that, but each time they have sex, for Josh it feels like he’s in the bed with a virgin again.

“Yes, Josh, _yes_.”

With a very experienced virgin.

Josh’s head is on fire, like a surge of painful inspiration that can’t find an outlet.

Pleasant warmth coils in the pit of Josh’s stomach, muscles rigid as he keeps pounding into Tyler, a high-pitched whimper rips up Tyler’s throat as he tries to reach and jerk himself off.

“Not now, not now,” Josh exhales unevenly, taking Tyler’s hand gingerly and getting it back to the headboard.

Tyler’s cock is leaking with precome, red and flushed at the tip, curling against his abdomen as Josh grinds against him, as Josh pushes into him, hunching his shoulders and kissing Tyler on the mouth. Josh lets Tyler’s teeth nip at his tongue which somehow enhances the funny feeling accruing in Josh’s groin area, the delight seems to be closer and closer with every second.   

But something just doesn’t feel right when the steady ache in Josh’s head twists his brain inside out. He’s sweating bullets and Tyler’s skinny legs are wrapped around his waist, their hips are locked as they harmoniously complementing each other’s moves.

Though, the balance seems to be a bit off, and the tension in Josh’s forehead is way too frustrating.

“Josh…” Tyler breathes out, pulling Josh for another kiss as the dizziness rushes over him.

Josh is still hard, but he’s about to stop when the first droplets of blood begin to fall on Tyler’s bare chest, filling the rectangles and triangles tattooed there.  _Just an art project —_

“Crap,” Josh promptly brings his palm up to his nose.

He’s probably overstrained himself while hitting his drums to battle his insecurities onstage — it hurts to think.

“No, Josh, everything is okay,” Tyler’s intonation makes him feel guilty.

He continues to thrust his cock against Tyler’s prostate — too afraid he might simply get soft and screw up the whole thing — and Tyler _moans_ , he moans sonorously when the blood from Josh’s nose lands on his face, on his neck.

Josh sniffs to hold it back, but the fresh portion of the liquid comes draining out through his nostrils as he just tilts his head forward.

The claws of pain torment Josh’s temples so hard he thinks he might swoon right on top of Tyler. He doesn’t want to gratify all of Tyler’s fads, but he’s determined to finish a game they’ve started. Josh’s erect cock throbs up Tyler’s ass as he screws his eyes shut and gives up to the foreign sensation —  having sex with a splitting headache is a struggle; the blood flowing over Josh’s upper lip probably doesn’t make him look attractive. Tyler rewards him with a sloppy kiss —

“This is so, so good, Josh.”

“Oh- but I’m not sure-”

“ _I’m_ sure.”

Josh is definitely going to get scratches on his back and bruises on his shoulders from the iron grip of Tyler’s fingers. And Josh just keeps up the beat, as always, gritting his teeth and wincing at the metallic scent permeating the room.

Josh’s body needs to relax so bad his breath hitches. At this point, he shudders and gasps and _finally_ comes — the room flares up with red and white, and Josh blindly takes Tyler’s cock into his clammy fist, managing to give it a couple firm tugs.

“Oh _my_ , Josh, I’m-” Tyler’s words don’t spill out of his lips as he climaxes with a spontaneous jerk of his hips.

Josh’s right hand is stained with both blood and come and he doesn’t know what else he’s supposed to do now. So he just falls face first into the pillow, mewling at the wetness of the fabric pressed to his cheek.

He wants to fall asleep but the pang of anxiety keeps him awake.

“I’m sorry I was terrible,” Josh mumbles, rolling over with his nostrils pinched tightly. He still can’t refocus on Tyler kneeling next to him.

“Josh? Are you alright?”

Josh swallows a thick streamlet of blood tickling his esophagus. It’s hard to breathe now and the air tastes like clotting blood.

“It was weird,” Josh admits. After the orgasm, his headache has almost stopped crippling his confused brain. “Have to deal with aftermath though.”

“Wanna take a bath?” Tyler asks. Josh eyes the rusty-red trails smeared down Tyler’s torso. He then looks down at his own chest and realizes his style is similar to Tyler’s. “Josh?”

“Yeah, yes, sounds cool,” Josh sits up and carefully touches his forefinger over the tip of his nose. “Haven’t had a nosebleed like this since I was sixteen or so. I fell off my skateboard and broke my nose when I was a teen,” he chuckles darkly. “No one asked me to fuck them though.”

“It was… it was really hot,” Tyler says quietly, winging his hand over Josh’s shoulders.

Josh sniffs through the red crust forming underneath his nose.

His stomach doesn’t enjoy being filled up _this way_.

Josh takes off the used condom and tosses it into a trashcan, still trying to wrap his mind around the situation with Tyler.

“I’m sorry, Josh,” Tyler nuzzles Josh’s jawline, the skin here shrinks from the dried blood. “I’m really sorry, I didn’t think- it looked so _enthralling_ , and yes- I relished it while I was cutting myself. I know, it’s an unhealthy coping mechanism, but anyway… I was hypnotized by the sight of _your_ blood, Josh,” he finishes with the sigh. “You didn’t like it. I saw it in your eyes and I hate myself for that. Really, I’m sorry, Josh.”

“Don’t be,” Josh responds with a labored smile. “Let’s call it like… the new experience? I don’t know, man, I’m kinda glad I was able to make it till the end, at least,” he says, reaching to ruffle Tyler’s hair.

It takes a second to figure out that there’s no quiff anymore. _Again._ It’s growing, but Josh’s hand glides over the short hair, spiky against his palm.

“Let’s go get cleaned up,” Josh says, taking the pillow and removing the ruined pillowcase. He hopes it didn’t bring much damage to the hotel they’re staying at.

“But Josh, is everything-”

“It is. Everything is okay,” it’s Josh’s turn to rub his lover’s back while he stares at all the scarlet spots on the bed, _on his thighs_. “We’re not going to turn this into a knife play or something like this, are we?”

“I’d never jeopardize you to entertain myself!” Tyler exclaims.

“And you’re not going to hurt yourself?”

The flashbacks are way too vivid.

Tyler shakes his head.

This somehow helps Josh soothe his restless heart. He can even take a full breath without taking a risk of choking on his bloody snot.

But Tyler looks dejected now.

Josh just wants to improve his mood a little so he says —

“Wanna tweet that we’re going to take a bath?”

“Yeah,” Tyler replies, his phone is already in his hand. “Definitely.”

 


End file.
